Computer Engineering Commons^™

Atamm Multicomputer System Design, William Robert Tymchyshyn

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The Algorithm To Architecture Mapping Model, or ATAMM, is a graph theoretic design methodology that has been created to resolve design and performance issues involved with concurrent processing. Petri-net marked graphs are used to represent the computational environment.

This thesis describes the development of a multicomputer system which will operate within the bounds specified by the ATAMM model. The system is first designed and implemented using the framework of standard multicomputer design theory. A validation is then performed by the comparison of the system's computational performance to results predicted by ATAMM. This validation is shown to be successful for three …

Using A Partial Order And A Metric To Analyze A Recursive Trace Set Equation, Jan Tijmen Udding, Tom Verhoeff

All Computer Science and Engineering Research

In Trace Theory the notion of a process is defined in terms of a set of finite-length traces over an alphabet. These processes are used as the semantics for a program notation. The program text for a recursive component naturally gives rise to an equation over trace sets. This paper takes two approaches at the analysis of that equation. The first approach is based on a partial order and it concentrates on the projection operator for processes. This yields a condition under which the greatest solution of that equation can be approximated by iteration. The second approach introduces a metric …

Performance Models For Noahnet, Gurudatta M. Parulkar, Adarshpal S. Sethi, David J. Farber

All Computer Science and Engineering Research

Noahnet is an experimental flood local area network with features such as high reliability and high performance. Noahnet uses a randomly connected graph topology with four to five interconnections per node and a flooding protocol to route messages. In Noahnet flooding, the routing of a message from a source to the destination node is a two step process: flooding-growth and flooding-contraction. During the growth of flooding, the message propagates to every node which is not occupied with a message and is reachable from the source node. During the contraction of flooding, the nodes that became occupied during the growth of …

Parallel Simulated Annealing, Roger D. Chamberlain, Mark N. Edelman, Mark A. Franklin, Ellen E. Witte

All Computer Science and Engineering Research

Since the paper by Kirkpatrick, Gelatt and Vecchi in 1983, the use of Simulated Annealing (SA) in solving combinatoric optimization problems has increased substantially. The SA algorithm has been applied to difficult problems in the difficult problems in the digital design automation such as cell placement and wire routing. While these studies have yielded good or near optimum solutions, they have required very long computer execution times (hours and days). These long times, coupled with the recent availability of the number of commercial parallel processors, has prompted the search for parallel implementations of the SA algorithm. The goal ahs been …

Hierarchical Discrete-Event Simulation On Hypercube Architecture, Roger D. Chamberlain, Mark A. Franklin

All Computer Science and Engineering Research

This paper presents model of hierarchical discrete-event simulation algorithm running on a hypercube architecture. We assume a static allocation of system components to processors in the hypercube. We also assume a global clock algorithm, with an event-based time increment. Following development of the performance model, we describe an application of the model in the area of digital systems simulation. Hierarchical levels included are gate level (NAND, NOR, and NOT gates) and MSI level (multiplexors, shift registers, etc.). Example values (gathered from simulations running on standard von Neumann architectures) are provided at the model inputs to show the effect of different …

Lsim2 User's Manual, Roger D. Chamberlain, Mark N. Edelman

All Computer Science and Engineering Research

Lsim2 is gate/switch-level digital logic simulator. It enables users to model digital circuits both at the gate and switch level and incorporates features the support investigation of the simulation task itself. Lsim2 is an augmented version of the original lsim* with the addition of several new MSI-type components models. This user's manual describes procedures for specifying a circuit in lsim2, mechanisms for controlling the simulation, and approaches to modeling systems.

Automatic Interface Generations From Grammar Specifications, Steve B. Cousins

All Computer Science and Engineering Research

This paper presents a method for automatically generating user interfaces to programs. All possible legal strings of input to a moderately interactive program, taken together, specify the input language of that program. A grammar for such a language is fundamentally knowledge about the language, and that knowledge can be used to assist the program's user in constructing legal program input. The set of words which can appear next in an input sentence, the 'Next set', is defined and a technique for calculating it with a modified version of Prologs's Definite Clause Grammar parser is given. One type of interface this …

Evaluation Of 3d Voxel Rendering Algorithms For Real-Time Interaction On A Simd Graphics Processor, Don Schreiter, John B. Zimmerman

All Computer Science and Engineering Research

The display of three-dimensional medical data is becoming more common, but current hardware and image rendering algorithms do not generally allow real-time interaction with the image by the user. Real-time interactions, such as image rotation, utilize the motion processing capabilities of the human visual system, allowing a better understanding of the structures being imaged. Recent advances in general purpose graphics display equipment could make real-time interaction feasible in clinical setting. We have evaluated the capabilities of one type of advanced display architecture, the PIXAR Imaging Computer, for real-time interaction while displaying three-dimensional medical data as two-dimensional projections. It was discovered …

An Evaluation Of The Effectiveness Of Adaptive Histogram Equalization For Contrast Enhancement, John B. Zimmerman, Stephen M. Pizer, Edward V. Staab, J. Randolph Perry, William Mccartney, Bradley C. Brenton

All Computer Science and Engineering Research

Adaptive Histogram Equalization (AHE), a method of contrast enhancement which is sensitive to local spatial information in an image, has been proposed as a solution to the problem of the inability of ordinary display devices to depict the full dynamic intensity range in some medical images. This method is automatic, reproducible, and simultaneously displays most of the information contained in the grey-scale contrast of the image. However, it has not been known whether the use of AHE causes the loss of diagnostic information relative to the commonly-used method intensity windowing. In the current work, AHE and intensity windowing are compared …

Load And Communications Balancing On Multiprocessor Logic Simulation Engines, Ken Wong, Mark A. Franklin

All Computer Science and Engineering Research

The problem considered in this paper is to find an assignment of logic components to processors which will achieve logic simulation speed-ups approaching the ideal for large processor populations. This problem becomes particularly important when a significant portion of the speed-up expected from logic simulation engines is attributed to load sharing (as opposed to obtaining speed-up by employing specialized hardware to carry out specific tasks associated with the simulation process such as event queue manipulation or function evaluation). Our research considers this problem for a particular multiprocessor simulation architecture for which a performance model has bene developed. The model is …

Transaction Network: A Parallel Computation Model Based On Consume/Produce Paradigm, Takayuki Dan Kimura

All Computer Science and Engineering Research

This report introduces a new parallel computation model that is suitable for pursuit of large scale concurrency. Our goal is to develop a semantically clean paradigm for distributed computation with fine-grained parallelism. Our approach is to demote the notion of process as the key concept in organizing large scale parallel computation. We promote, instead, the notion of transaction, an anonymous atomic action void of internal state, as the basic element of computation. We propose to organize a computation as a network, called a transaction net, of databases connected by transactions. A transaction, when it is fired, consumes data objects from …

Advanced Communications Systems, Jonathan S. Turner

All Computer Science and Engineering Research

The Advanced Communication Systems Project is concerned with new communication technologies that can support a wide range of different communication applications in the context of large public networks. Communications networks in common use today have been tailored to specific applications and while they perform their assigned functions well, they are difficult to adapt to new uses. There currently are no general purpose networks, rather there are telephone networks, low-speed data networks and cable television networks. As new communications applications proliferate, it becomes clear that in the long term, a more flexible communications infrastructure will be needed. The Integrated Services Digital …

Software Tools For Performance Evaluation Of Concurrent Processing, Rodrogo A. Obando

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The development and use of software tools for performance evaluation of concurrent processing is presented in this thesis. The particular concurrent processing architecture proposed by Stoughton and Mielke is investigated. The modelling of this architecture is based on Petri net theory and it can be studied making use of circuit theory. Computation of lower bounds for Time Between Outputs (TBO) and Time Between Input and Output (TBIO) can be accomplished by using principles of circuit theory, among others. This new modelling needs to be deeply evaluated and studied. This evaluation and study is accomplished with the tools developed and presented …

Prodb: An Experimental Generalized Database System User's Manual, Guillermo R. Simari

All Computer Science and Engineering Research

The following notes document in a succinct manner the use of the system PRODB. The system is still evolving and several new features are in the process of being added. PRODB is a prototype system that is being used as an exploration vehicle of the possible extensions to the relational model through logic programming. The system consists of a relational database system having a relational algebra type language as a query language. It is written in Prolog and it extends the capabilities of Prolog predicates with the relational algebra operators for handling the database structure. The database system currently provides …

Belief Maintenance Systems: Initial Prototype Specification, Roseanne M. Fulcomer, William E. Ball, John P. Tadlock

All Computer Science and Engineering Research

A fundamental need in future information systems is an effective method of accurately representing and monitoring dynamic, real-world situations inside a computer. Information is represented using an Extended Open World Assumption (EOWA), in which the data are explicitly true or false. Reasoning within the EOWA is done through the use of a dynamic dependency net which only represents those beliefs and justifications that are both currently valid and in current use. In this paper, we present definitions and uses of the EOWA and dynamic dependency net in our current research of developing a database with which we can use deductive …

Impact Of Automation On Process Control Decision-Making, Steven M. Miller, Susan R. Bereiter

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

This paper investigates changes in the process control of a vehicle assembly plant which had been modernized from a principally manual procedure to one that uses programmable automation extensively. Process control is defined as the information flow and decision-making required to perform basic process operations. We investigate the effects of implementing a computer-integrated production system on the amount and types of process control decision-making and on the distribution of process control decision-making between humans and machines. After automation, the emphasis on decisions regarding product quality specifications increased and the emphasis on decisions related to flexibility in handling a variety of …

A Unified Approach To Mixed-Mode Simulation, Roger D. Chamberlain, Mark A. Franklin

All Computer Science and Engineering Research

This paper presents a unified approach to mixed-mode simulation. It investigates the algorithms for both logic and circuit simulation, considering their similarities and differences, and a general framework is presented for integrating the two algorithms in uniform manner. The time advance mechanisms and component functional evaluations of the algorithms are show to be similar in nature, and mechanisms for the translation of information represented uniquely in the two algorithms are given. The resulting integrated algorithms is capable of performing mixed-mode simulation, where a circuit is partitioned into discrete and continuous regions, and each region is simulated at the appropriate level. …

Centre For Computer Aided Management: An Overview, V B Kaujalagi

IIMB Management Review

No abstract provided.

A Compiler For A Two-Dimensional Programming Language, Julie Wing Kam Choi

All Computer Science and Engineering Research

A visual programming language is presented. This language uses interactive graphics to convey notion such as subroutine, recursion, block structure, parallel and serial processing to school children. Currently the system is interpreter based. To overcome the inefficiency of the interpreter based system, a compiler is implemented for this language. This report gives an overview of the compiler and the details about the parser, semantic analyzer and the code generator. Finally, a performance comparison between the interpreter based system and the compiler based system is given.

Progressive Coding And Transmission Of Digital Diagnostic Pictures, Sharaf E. Elnahas, Kou-Hu Tsou, Jerome R. Cox, Rexford L. Hill, R. Gilbert Jost

All Computer Science and Engineering Research

In radiology, as a result if the increased utilization of digital imaging modalities, such as computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), over a third of the images produced in a typical radiology department are currently in digital form, and this percentage is steadily increasing, Image compression provides a means for the economical storage and efficient transmission of these diagnostic pictures. The level of coding distortion than can be accepted for clinical diagnosis purposes is not yet well-defined. In this paper we introduce some constraints on the design of existing transform codes in order to achieve progressive image transmission …

Deterministic Linear Predictors For Bit Rate Improvement, Dhanvant H. Goradia

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

This thesis addresses the application of deterministic linear predictor s for telemetry based systems. Deterministic linear predictors are considered as a viable alternative to block transform coding in order to achieve bit rate reduction. A method of calculating the predictor coefficients of a deterministic linear predictor is presented. The system model is developed parametrically with respect to the bandwidth, polynomial order, signal class and predictor length. Two classes of signals, deterministic and random are analyzed and bounds on the performance of the deterministic linear predictor are established. A family of six pole Butterworth filters are used as presample filters in …

Show And Tell User's Manual, Peter Mclain, Takayuki Dan Kimura

All Computer Science and Engineering Research

The purpose of this report is to introduce essential features of the Show and Tell Language system to those computer users who are already familiar with some high-level programming language such as FORTRAN, BASIC or PASCAL. This manual is not intended for school children. Some familiarity with the Macintosh user interface and the MacPaint application program is assumed. It is also assumed that the Show and Tell application program disk and the Sample program are available to the reader. The basic programming concepts in Show and Tell are introduced in Chapter Three. The reader may find it easer to start …

A Systolic Parsing Algorithm For A Visual Programming Language, Adam W. Bojanczyk, Takayuki Dan Kimura

All Computer Science and Engineering Research

In this paper we consider a problem of parsing a two-dimensional visual programming language Show and Tell on a two-dimensional array of processors. A program in Show and Tell is a bit-mapped, two-dimensional pattern satisfying a certain set of grammatical rules. The pattern consists of partially ordered set of rectilinear boxes and arrows distributed over the space of nxn pixel area. The corresponding directed graph, the box graph, where boxes are nodes and arrows are directed edges, may not have a cycle in a Show and Tell program. The cycle detection is the most computationally intensive stage of the parsing …

An Exact Analysis For Efficient Computation Of Random-Pattern Testability In Combinational Circuits, Sharad C. Seth, Bhargab B. Bhattacharya, Vishwani Agrawal

School of Computing: Conference and Workshop Papers

Experimental evidence shows that low testability in a typical circuit is much more likely due to poor observability than poor controllability. Thus, from theoretical and practical standpoints, it is important to develop an accurate model for observability computation. One such model, in terms of supergates, is proposed in the first part of this paper thus complimenting our earlier work. It is now possible to obtain exact random-pattern testability for each line in a circuit.

The second part of the paper analyzes the supegate structure of a circuit from a graph theoretic viewpoint. Finding a supergate is related to determining the …

Lsim User Manual, Roger D. Chamberlain

All Computer Science and Engineering Research

Lsim is a gate/switch level digital logic similar. It enables users to model digital circuits both at the gate and switch level and incorporates features that support investigation of the simulation task itself. This user's manual describes the procedures used to specify a circuit to lsim and control the simulation of the circuit (i.e., specifying inputs vectors, running the simulation, and monitoring output signals).

Investigation Of Electronic Holography Using Spice Computer Simulation Experiments, Monish Ranjan Chatterjee

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Using SPICE experiments, it has been possible to verify most of the important aspects of electronic holography. The generation and properties of dynamic echoes under different types of nonlinearities have been extensively tested, and some new information has been garnered in the process. The case of pulse and generalized memory echoes has also been tested, and the results have been fairly satisfactory. Most of all, the simplicity with which the intriguing concept of memory echoes has translated into the circuit implementation on SPICE, and the closeness of the results to predicted behavior have been somewhat of a pleasant surprise.

Since …

Statistics On Logic Simulation, K. F. Wong, Mark A. Franklin, Roger D. Chamberlain, B. L. Shing

All Computer Science and Engineering Research

The high costs associated with logic simulation of large VLSI based systems have led to the need for new computer architectures tailored to the simulation task. Such architecture have the potential for significant speedups over standard software based logic simulators. Several commercial simulation engines have been produced to satisfy need in this area. To properly explore the space of alternative simulation architectures, data is required on the simulation process itself. This paper presents a framework for such data gathering activity by first examining possible sources of speedup in the logic simulation task, examining the sort of data needed in the …

Randomized Routing On Fat-Trees, Ronald I. Greenberg

Computer Science: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Fat-trees are a class of routing networks for hardware-efficient parallel computation. This paper presents a randomized algorithm for routing messages on a fat-tree. The quality of the algorithm is measured in terms of the load factor of a set of messages to be routed, which is a lower bound on the time required to deliver the messages. We show that if a set of messages has load factor lambda on a fat-tree with n processors, the number of delivery cycles (routing attempts) that the algorithm requires is O(lambda+lgnlglgn) with probability 1-O(1/ …

Analog Computer Simulation With Automatic Scaling By Digital Computer, Mark Anthony Motter

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

A computer-aided design approach for the simplification of analog computer simulation is presented. The simulation configuration consists of an EAI 2000 analog computer with serial communications link to a PDP — 11/24 digital computer. Under control of the PDP-11, the analog simulations are realized with appropriate time and magnitude scaling which adjusts the range of the simulation coefficients and prevents overloads of the analog components. The analog computer hardware configuration accommodates both stable plants up to eighth order and closed-loop systems up to tenth order. Cascade compensation is provided for the closed-loop systems.

The plant may be described by either …

On The Probable Performance Of Graph Coloring Algorithms, Jonathan S. Turner

All Computer Science and Engineering Research

We define a natural probability distribution over the set of k-colorable graphs on n vertices and study the probable performance of several algorithms on graphs selected from this distribution. The main results are listed below. • We describe an algorithm to determine if a given n vertex graph is k-colorable, which runs in time O(n + m log k), where m is the number of edges. We show that this algorithm can successfully identify almost all random k-colorable graphs for constant or slowly growing values of k. • We show that an algorithm proposed by Brelas, and justified on experimental …